Problems with voting papers reported

Voting papers for local body elections are being distributed throughout the country and already problems are being reported.

In Masterton voting papers state people can vote for up to seven candidates in the urban ward, when in fact they can only vote for four.

Any ballot paper which has more than four boxes ticked will be declared void.

But Masterton's Chief Electoral Officer is hoping the problem will not be an issue. He says a public notice will be appearing in this week’s Wairarapa papers and they have sent a letter to all Masterton urban voters explaining the situation as well advising voters what they need to do.

And Masterton is not the only town to have problems. Carterton voters were sent information packs for Alexandra, which is 960 kilometres away.

In Christchurch, Graham Condon's name will still appear on voting papers. His death earlier this month in a road accident happened after the papers had been printed.

DHB candidate Barry Columbus also pulled out after the papers had gone to press.

So while things are not off to a good start in some centres, electoral officers will be hoping that there will not be a repeat of the 2004 election.